‘For Men To Talk’ is a community interest company and provides a service only to one sex, men.
However, we have considered our approach to transgender people’s use of the service. In considering our approach and when taking decisions, we have the conditions set out under the gender reassignment provisions.
Under these provisions, our approach is to allow men, who have a mental health illness, such as anxiety, grief and depression to talk with other male sufferers. It is recognised as a mens peer support group. This is achieving a legitimate aim of improving mens mental health through same sex support and communication. ‘For Men To Talk’ was founded due to a requirement of a single-sex service.
For example, society’s expectations and traditional gender roles play a role in why men are less likely to discuss or seek help for their mental health problems, especially with women. ‘For Men To Talk’ is allowing a single-sex service for men to refuse to allow society’s expectations to remain silent, so that they can improve their mental health.
Another example is that ‘For Men To Talk’ provides privacy and dignity of any conversation during their meetings, this allows men to feel comfortable disclosing their mental health illness. This is during a single-sex service.
Under the Equality Act 2010, ‘sex’ is understood as binary, being a man or a woman. For the purposes of the Act, a person’s legal sex is their biological sex as recorded on their birth certificate. A transgender person can change their legal sex by obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate. A transgender person who does not have a Gender Recognition Certificate retains the sex recorded on their birth certificate for the purposes of the Act.
As a single-sex service, ‘For Men To Talk’ must consider the impact on and needs of all service users, we have to look at our actions and how they will affect both transgender people and other service users.
‘For Men To Talk’ Policy and Guidelines to Transgender People
Under the Equality Act 2010, ‘For Men To Talk’ will accept: A woman who has transitioned to a man and in receipt of a Gender Recognition Certificate
Under the Equality Act 2010, ‘For Men To Talk’ will no longer accept: A man who has transitioned to a woman and in receipt of a Gender Recognition Certificate
Under the Equality Act 2010, a person does not need to have Gender Recognition Certificate to be protected under the characteristic of gender reassignment. ‘For Men To Talk’ will therefore not ask for this when deciding whether to treat someone differently or exclude transgender people from the ‘For Men To Talk’ meetings. Asking for one could also be a breach of someone’s right to privacy. Therefore the person in question and a representative from ‘For Men To Talk’ will be required to have a conversation before participating in any meeting or when a decision to transitioned has been decided, if the person has participated in a meeting previously.